Stefan Knapen is a med student from the Netherlands, he writes about study hacks at his blog StudySuccessful. He is also a freelance writer, writing for InfoBarrel for example.
Want to earn money as well with writing articles? Check out InfoBarrel's writing program!

InfoBarrel is a writing platform for non-fiction, reference-based, informative content. Opinions expressed by InfoBarrel writers are their own.

SAD Light Therapy Amazon: Cheap Light Therapy Boxes

Light Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder on Amazon is something we can all be amazed by. Seasonal Affective Disorder is treated with light therapy and everybody can buy the actual devices just on the internet, on Amazon. On one hand that is pretty weird, but on the other hand is pretty amazing as well. So what are the options on Amazon for cheap light boxes?

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

To understand what the therapy for SAD is we first need to understand what SAD actually is. Winter depression, as SAD is often named is a sub-type of major depression. The DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental DisorderS) says about SAD 'it is a recurrent pattern of major depressive episodes during the winter and remission of the symptoms during the summer, in the absence of psychosocial stressors.'

A returning, in a patter, depression. The best known is probably winter depression. The depression comes up in the winter and disappears in the summer.

Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms include sadness, decreased activity and social misfortune. All of these three symptoms are shown in over 90% of the SAD diagnosed patients. Less frequent, but still in over 70% of the patients, are increased sleep, poor quality of sleep and increasing weight.

There are several hypotheses about the causes of seasonal affective disorder. Among them is the photoperiod hypothesis, which is about how much light we are getting during the day. Another important one is about the circadian rhythm, which is our biological clock. These hypotheses combined form the foundation of light therapy in SAD.

Light Therapy in Seasonal Affective Disorder[751]

Studies found light therapy to be effective in patients with seasonal affective disorder. The bright light therapy using a light box was in this study superior to non-light control conditions. [765]

Light Therapy can be considered for:

Non-psychotic well-documented seasonal depression. People with a winter depression who don't have psychotic episodes.

Winter depressive episodes occurring within recurrent major depressive disorder. Whenever the patient has a major depressive disorder winter depression can occur as well.

Winter depressive episodes occuringwithin bipolar II disorder. Seasonal variances can be a luxating factor as well for depressive episodes within manic-depressive patients.

Milder seasonal depressive episodes.

Administration of Light Therapy

Light therapy is administrated at at least 2500 lux, with boxes who are administering 10,000 lux! Lux is a unit to measure the amount of light. Studies have found 10,000 lux for 30 minutes a day is effective already. The patient should have open eyes during the treatment session and the treatment is started at 10-15 minute session a day, gradually increasing the duration to 30-54 minutes, depending on the response.

Just as the NatureBright the Philips goLITE BLU is a device which you can place on your desk and with only 15 minutes a day you will see effect. The difference is that the Philips goLITE BLU is the number one most sold light therapy device in the world. The price is a little higher, with around $160.

Omega SAD Light Therapy Device Super Bright 10,000 lux Blue Light

As the above devices, a desk device which sends out the correct blue light needed for the symptoms of winter depression. This one is a lot cheaper with only $40, but therefore also maybe less effective. On Amazon this one got the most critical reviews, including complaints about the company who sells them.

For people with a winter depression the light boxes can be a real help and it is wonderful you can get them online. Please share if you have any experience with SAD light therapy boxes from Amazon!